Gina Rodriguez Says Postpartum Anxiety Taught Her This Important Lesson

Long before becoming a mother herself, Golden Globe-winning actress Gina Rodriguez spent five seasons portraying Jane Villanueva on the hit TV series Jane the Virgin, a role that explored everything from unplanned pregnancy to the joys and challenges of motherhood.

Today, Rodriguez and her husband, actor Joe LoCicero, are parents to two young children. After welcoming son Charlie in 2023 and daughter Lucille in 2025, Rodriguez experienced firsthand the many emotional realities of new motherhood—including shifting priorities, mom guilt, and realizing that asking for help wasn’t always easy.

A recent Philips Avent & March of Dimes survey show’s that Rodriguez isn’t alone in hesitating. The data found that while 90% of people are willing to assist new parents, 62% of new moms have trouble voicing their needs.

Now, through a partnership with baby care brand Philips Avent, Rodriguez is helping spotlight the new Share the Care Connector. It’s a free text-based tool that prompts new parents to identify the support they need and then alerts their “village” of family and friends so they can step in and help.

In an exclusive interview with The Healthy, Rodriguez opens up about everything from postpartum anxiety to why she believes motherhood “was never meant to be done alone.”

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The Healthy: We often hear about the importance of having a “village” after a baby is born, but actually asking for help can be really hard for a lot of new moms. What stood out to you about the Share the Care Connector, and how much did your own motherhood experience influence your decision to get involved?

Gina Rodriguez: Partnering with Philips Avent for [this] was important to me because motherhood has changed my entire existence in a way that makes me understand my priorities. So many people have told me, “Oh, your priorities are going to shift.” Well, I did not realize how much they were going to shift, and how difficult it was going to be for me to ask for help. So partnering, it was not just imperative; it was an honor because, truly, I wish more companies would create programs that allow mothers to thrive. It’s so hard.

The Healthy: It really is.

Gina Rodriguez: I see on my Instagram algorithm that mothers are talking about their mental load and how a partner can show up for them. But a company of this magnitude showing up for moms is going to start the trend we need to see. Because motherhood was never meant to be done alone. It’s impossible. I was very good at asking for help in my career and not afraid to ask for what I believed I deserved. And then I became a mother, and I was like, I don’t know how to do this.

There was this element of guilt—that I had to do it by myself—and an element of [thinking], Who is going to do it with me? Who’s going to do it as much as I want them to at the same level of care and love and kindness? So, [Philips Avent] created this free text messaging tool that helps create your village, so that in the postpartum period, you can just be. You have the support and the foundation you didn’t even know you needed. You could just tell [they] did their research, were speaking to real moms, and were getting real information.

The Healthy: You’ve spoken before about feeling guilty during your second pregnancy because you couldn’t be there for your son 24/7 anymore—a feeling so many parents can relate to. How did your support system help you through that transition, and what did it teach you about the importance of asking for or accepting help?

Gina Rodriguez: When my daughter was born, my son had croup, and he wasn’t able to get near her. I was in absolute tears. I had him in a mask and he wanted to take it off. He’d be like, “Mommy, why do I have to wear it?” And I was devastated. We eventually had to keep them separate when she came home. But it was the grandparents that showed up. It was [my son’s] godparents, my best friends, that showed up and were with us 24/7. They stayed in the house and played with him. Anytime he got sad, they were there. They were cooking for him. They were making sure that he felt so loved. But the guilt was still there; it was massive. But [it helped] just knowing that he was being loved, cared for, and eating well.

I could hear him laughing, and then I felt the guilt that he should be laughing with me and [my daughter]. [It was] guilt that my husband and I actually decided to mourn, and we cried about how [we no longer had] this threesome—this perfect little trio we were. How could you feel this extreme love for [your firstborn] and then also feel so guilty that you’ve kind of thrown a wrench in their life?

The Healthy: And now you probably can’t even imagine life without your second!

Gina Rodriguez: Oh, she’s the most perfect thing in the entire world! She quite literally completes me. She completes my existence. I have been waiting for her my whole life—I could cry. And my son is who made me a mother and is the greatest thing on the planet.

But where are all the companies that support and uplift [parents]? We buy all their products. It’s time to give back and to think about how to empower and uplift moms, and when you protect a mom, the whole family thrives. It is not vain. It is not arrogance. It is like quite literally, I need help. I need care. I need a hug. And if you don’t have help, you drown. You melt into the ground.

The Healthy: You can truly feel how passionate you are about this—and moms do need a lot of hugs!

Gina Rodriguez: Yes, lots of hugs! I need people to show up and say, “How are you, Gina?” Not just, “Oh, the baby’s so beautiful.” I went through postpartum anxiety with my second but didn’t with my first. So I really took that for granted. I had a really close friend who had a very tough postpartum depression experience and I remember thinking, Oh, that’s not me, and it’s not going to happen to me. And then it happened, and I was like, Whoa. Life is the best teacher. It’s hard.

The Healthy: Absolutely. And so often, people genuinely want to help new moms but aren’t sure what would actually be useful. What’s one thing, or a couple of things, that you think makes a new mom feel truly supported?

Gina Rodriguez: The Share the Care Connector—this very simple text message tool—is actually something that is going to be imperative, because it helps guide what you need. It doesn’t say, “What do you need now?” It gives you prompts—do you need one, two, or three? And it prompts the village [to your response] so that they can show up. It doesn’t just ask what you need, because if somebody asked me that, I would be like, I have no idea. Just ask me questions. If you tell me what you think I need, then maybe I can tell you yes or no, because the hormone drop after you have a baby… It’s an all-consuming body experience.

The Healthy: Yes—and everyone talks about the physical recovery, but the the emotional recovery is just as significant. How have you been able to navigate that aspect of postpartum life?

Gina Rodriguez: I’ve been very selective about the things I do after motherhood because if it’s going to take time away from my children, it has to matter. It has to be pushing something forward that is going to create a kinder and more loving, gentle, and patient world—because that’s all I’m ever looking for. Please be gentle with me. Please be kind with me. Please be patient with me. I’m trying my best.

I mean, in my industry, maternity leave doesn’t exist. There’s nobody saying, “I’ll pay for you to take off.” And for a lot of people, maternity leave just does not exist. So the Share the Care Connector is a step forward. It’s revolutionary. And hopefully, people will start to see that. Signing up is very simple online. You just set up your village—neighbors, best friends, a cousin, a sibling, a grandparent. If you only have one, set it up, because then they can help support you. The thought and work is taken out, and it’s just one less thing you have to think about.

The Healthy: How have you learned to filter the noise—and figure out what’s legit—when everyone is shouting a different health tip at you?

Gina Rodriguez: I’m still trying to figure that out! Oh my God—like starting solids. I [follow] like every “starting solids” person on Instagram. Honestly, I go with my gut. And then I’ve also filtered out things on Instagram that are going to scare me when it comes to my children. I don’t have any space for it. I can’t do it—it’s just too much. I have to preserve my mental health. It’s something I’m actually working really hard on. So, I’m gonna do the best I can, and just be conscious and mindful, and try to give myself grace.

For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Keep reading:

• I Lost 35 Pounds of Postpartum Weight—Here’s How Hers Helped Me Do It
• 7 Postpartum Depression Myths That Can Be Dangerous to Believe
• “What I Wish I’d Known About Pregnancy”: A Doctor Details What Expectant Parents Should Know
• 4 Postpartum Yoga Poses To Strengthen Your Core, From a Certified Yoga & Postnatal Instructor

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The post Gina Rodriguez Says Postpartum Anxiety Taught Her This Important Lesson appeared first on The Healthy.